Ross in the Antarctic

(pages 933-937)

“A FRENCH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION under the command of Captain J S C Dumont d’Urville sailed in August 1838 to the waters that Ross was to explore in the next five years. This illustration shows the sailors from d’Urville’s ships, the Astrolabe and the Zelee, trying to clear a passage in the ice-pack. In 1840 d’Urville discovered Adelie Land, on the Antarctic Circle.”

(Page 934)

The Paddle Steamer Iona

“THE FAMOUS TWO-FUNNELLED PADDLE STEAMER Iona, the third of that name, was built in 1864 and continued in constant service until 1935. She was an iron-hulled vessel of 396 tons gross, and her two oscillating engines gave her a speed of 17 knots. This photograph shows the Iona leaving Fort William, at the head of Loch Linnhe, for Oban.”

(Page 940)

German Shipping

Crippled as Germany was by the war of 1914-18 and by the surrender of the greater part of her merchant tonnage, in reparation for the damage done by her submarines. Thus her shipping tonnage dropped to almost nothing. The Cunard White Star liner Majestic, to quote one well-known example of a surrendered vessel, was originally the Bismarck. A vigorous policy of reconstruction was embarked upon, however, under State control and, due chiefly to these Government measures, the German fleet can to-day claim to be one of the most efficient in the world. This fine and efficient fleet embodies many German inventions of naval architecture and engineering. This chapter is by Frank Bowen who describes all branches of German shipping, from the barges and river steamers which ply up and down the Rhine and other German rivers, to the giant liners Bremen and Europa, which carry passengers between Germany and the United States. The article is the sixth in the series on Sea Transport of the Nations.

(Pages 943-952)

The Cable Ship

These craft are employed for repairing the marine cables which form the vital links of world communication. The ships have two main functions. They lay the cable or they pick up the cable and make any repairs that may be necessary after damage in a storm. The Faraday (illustrated above) shows that she has four cable tanks. The ship has a clipper stem adapted for carrying three cable sheaves, and a cruiser stern with two sheaves on the starboard side. There is also a large hold forward of the cable tanks for stowing buoys and other gear incidental to cable work. The shelter deck is the working platform for cable repairing, testing, jointing and the like; at the bow are three cable sheaves. Immediately forward of the main cable machinery hatch is a dynamometer for registering the pull of the cable, and abaft this hatch is a steel house and shelter for the control gear to the picking up machinery. The main propelling machinery consists of twin sets of three-crank triple-expansion engines. Collectively they are designed to develop 2,960 ihp when running at about 88 revolutions a minute. Her engines can drive the vessel, if necessary, at three-quarters of a know. The Faraday has a length between perpendiculars of 394 ft 4 in. She has an extreme breadth of 48 ft 3 in and a draught of 27 ft 5¾ in. Her gross tonnage is 5,533. This is the twenty second article in the series on Merchant Ship Types.

(Page 938)

’Twixt Highlands and Hebrides

On the West Coast of Scotland and in the Islands, where there are few railways and where roads are indifferent, transport depends almost entirely upon the sturdy packets which range from early paddle steamers to modern diesel-electric ships. This chapter describes the services maintained by the MacBrayne boats, and gives particulars of some of the best-known vessels. Readers of Boswell’s “Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Dr Johnson” will be particularly struck by the difference that the last hundred years have made in the shipping in this part of the world; tourists nowadays can do their travelling in much greater comfort than was enjoyed by the Doctor. The article is by C. Hamilton Ellis.

(Pages 939-942)

Hamburg Harbour

“HAMBURG HARBOUR is one of the busiest centres of German shipping and vessels of many nationalities may always be seen there. The harbour is always thronged with ships of many types, large and small. The liner shown in the right background is the Monte Cervantes, a Hamburg-Sudamerika vessel of 13,913 tons gross, built in 1927 and wrecked off the Patagonian coast on a cruise in 1930. She was 500 ft 7 in long, with a beam of 65 ft 9 in and a depth of 37 ft 11 in.”

(Pages 948-949)

The Scharnhorst

“FOR THE FAR EASTERN SERVICES of the North German Lloyd Line, three modern liners were built in 1935, the Scharnhorst, the Gneisenau and the Potsdam. This striking photograph shows the Maierform bows of the Scharnhorst. A twin-screw vessel of 18,184 tons gross, she has a length of 625 ft

7 in between perpendiculars, a beam of 74 ft 1 in and a depth of 41 feet. She carries 152 first-class and 144 tourist-class passengers. Two turbo-generators supply alternating current to her electric motors, which have a horse-power of about 26,000.”

(Page 946)

Exploring the Ocean Depths

During a voyage that circumnavigated the world in 1872-76, HMS Challenger made a continuous survey of the depths of the sea, its temperatures and currents, and obtained extraordinary specimens of the vegetable and animal life that exists at astounding depths. The Royal Society was the chief promoter of this expedition. A distance of nearly 70,000 miles was covered during the voyage, which involved the circumnavigation of the globe. In addition to her other calls, the Challenger visited the inhospitable island of Kerguelen, in the South Indian Ocean, previously visited in 1776 by Cook and in 1840 by Ross. From Kerguelen the Challenger went south, crossing the Antarctic Circle. On March 23, 1875, a depth of 4,475 fathoms (26,850 feet) was recorded in the Pacific. Besides recording the depths at various points, the Challenger expedition noted differences of temperature (thus making important discoveries about the currents below the surface), the character of the sea-bed and the animal and plant life to be found there. This article is by Peter Duff.

(Pages 953-957)

The Hamburg

“COMING INTO PORT. The Hamburg-Amerika liner Hamburg, 22,117 tons gross, makes regular calls at Southampton and is seen on the left being towed to her berth by the tug Wellington, 285 tons gross. The Hamburg is a twin-screw liner built in 1926 and reconstructed twice since. Her length is 645 ft 7 in between perpendiculars, her beam 72 ft 4 in, and her depth 42 ft 1 in. Steam turbine groups drive her two shafts through single-reduction gearing.”

(Page 944)

HMS Challenger

“THE FAMOUS OLD SURVEY SHIP which laid the foundations for the study of world oceanography. HMS Challenger was a steam corvette, with a displacement of 2,306 tons. She was built at Chatham, Kent, in 1858. A wooden ship with a spar deck, HMS Challenger had three masts and one funnel. Her horizontal direct-acting engines indicated 1,234 hp.”

(Page 953)

Modern Marine Boiler Types

Considerable improvement in the power and efficiency of marine boilers followed upon the adoption of the Scotch boiler about 1870 and has continued with the subsequent development of the water tube boiler. This chapter is by F E Dean and is the ninth article in the series on Marine Engines and Their Story.

(Pages 958-961)

Scotch Boilers

“SCOTCH BOILERS were introduced in 1862, and until water tube boilers were perfected Scotch boilers were generally used in ships. Even to-day they are found in most merchant steamers. Above are models of the Scotch boilers fitted in HMS Trafalgar, built at Portsmouth in 1890. Six boilers of this type were arranged in two stokeholds.”

(Page 958)

Drake and the Golden Hind

Although Sir Francis Drake was the second man - and the fist Englishman - to circumnavigate the world, his importance in the history of the sea does not rest solely on this feat. His fine seamanship and adventurous spirit set an example to British seafarers which was largely responsible for the rise in Tudor times of British sea power. This chapter is by Sidney Howard and is the fifth article in the series on Supreme Feats of Navigation. The article is concluded in part 31.

(Pages 962-964)

The Geierfels

“HOMEWARD BOUND, the cargo vessel Geierfels, 7,605 tons gross, steams into Hamburg harbour. With her sister ship Lichtenfels, 7,566 tons gross, the Gierefels belongs to the Hansa Line’s fleet of cargo vessels. Built at Bremen in 1930, she has a length of 503 ft 9 in between perpendiculars, a beam of 62 ft 3 in and a depth of 27 ft 8 in.”

(Page 950)

The Golden Hind

“DRAKE’S FLAGSHIP on his voyage round the world is represented by a fine model of the Golden Hind specially built for Navy Week displays at Plymouth. This model, built as closely as possible on the lines of Drake’s ship, sails well with a small crew. The original Golden Hind was preserved as a memorial at Deptford, on the Thames, for about a hundred years after Drake had returned from his historic voyage.”